Polestar has more than a few problems with the proposed rule, according to its public comments. First, the definition is too broad and “creates crippling uncertainty for businesses.” A better defined list would be helpful here, the report says.
Polestar also says that “if a significant portion of manufacturing or software development occurs outside a foreign adversary's country, mere ownership should not be the determining factor for the application of the various prohibitions within the proposed rule.” Polestar is a US organized company and a subsidiary of a British public company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange in New York. The head office is in Sweden and seven of the ten board members are from Europe or the US. It builds Polestar 3 SUVs in South Carolina and will build the Polestar 4 in South Korea starting next year. Of its 2,800 employees, only 280 are based in China, Polestar says.
Because the company's “key decision makers” are in Sweden, there is little reason to believe national security concerns apply here, the company says, saying the U.S. Department of Commerce should consider whether it hasn't gone too far.
Polestar may be the automaker most affected by the new rule, but it is not the only one. Last month, the Commerce Department told Ford and General Motors that imports of the Lincoln Nautilus and Buick Envision — both made in China — would also have to stop under the new rule.
